LOT280 LHR-WAW 10 MAY 15 (ECONOMY)

To Warsaw, for a working week. Not yet having achieved the status of one who hath and therefore shall be given to, this means travelling on Sunday to be at work 9am Monday morning. Couple this with the facts that the only flight CWT would offer is from Heathrow, so farewell Sunday afternoon and that the OLCI had attempted to put me in the middle of three, and perhaps my initially rather sour mood is explained. That said, that mood does brighten after relaxing hour on the train and easy connections to LHR via the Circle Line and the Heathrow Express.

One small fly in the ointment was the incorrect signing of which platform hosted the first departing train. Now, what is fifteen minutes to a man who is habitually early? Not much you might say, but this was a man with a plan. Not one particularly cunning in nature, but still a plan....and that was to use the United Lounge in T2 before they closed their doors to we holders of Priority Pass. I wasn't certain I would get in anyway as I'd read a comment about holders of cards based on having accounts with financial institutions being considered not worthy, but in the end (having spent a good few minutes legging it to T2B and a further few minutes trying to find the door) was ushered in no problem.

And mighty fine it proved to be, not least because of the free flowing champagne, after several glasses of which my mood had lifted considerably, to the extent of making me forget that my suit jacket had nearly being chewed up by the security apparatus. When the "on schedule" boarding time arrived, it was a happy (merry?) PJH who made the trek all the way back to T2A to take his place in the boarding queue, wait but a few minutes and then take his (aisle) seat on a full 737 relishing the incongruity of being packed like a sardine yet more than a little squiffy on if not free, then pre paid,champagne.

And I had quite some time to relish that incongruity as departure time came and went. As did a quarter hour after departure time, and then half an hour after departure time. Again though, a decent book to read helped keep the spirits up and the thought was there that time is usually recovered, they pad the schedules etc and so I wouldn't be *that* late.

How wrong can you be? Somehow the half hour delay in departure morphed into an hour and fifteen minutes late arrival. I presume we were on the aerial equivalent of the naughty step,for though I couldn't see much out of the window when over Warsaw the engines were making that spooling up and down sound that happens when in a holding pattern. Add in the airport transit and taxi ride and it was close to midnight when I sat down to my evening meal of pistachio nuts and beer.

To be fair,the flight itself was solid LCC fare, with the added bonus of a glass of water and a wafer biscuit.I wouldn't shudder in horror if I had to use LOT again.

Trip report a lot more fun to read than your journey seems to have been - thanks for posting.

You really dined out in style on board & at the hotel - I think I'll need to take sandwiches on this route later in the year to stop me 'fading away' !

You really dined out in style on board & at the hotel - I think I'll need to take sandwiches on this route later in the year to stop me 'fading away' !

My own fault. I could have found somewhere to eat in T2 and stuck it on expenses, but my employer doesn't look kindly on Delivery Consultants claiming for champagne .... .....and I felt like champagne.